What Is A Pulse Oximeter?
This device is very reliable at monitoring a patient’s oxygen saturation levels. The unit can be used to monitor oxygen levels and to titrate, if necessary, the flow rates of the unit to obtain the patient’s saturation goal. We recommend that users check their saturation on their home equipment to assess what their baseline saturation is and use this as a goal saturation (or ask your doctor for his recommendation) with a POC.
Most of us won’t often come across the use of a pulse oximeter very often, but in the medical world they are very important pieces of equipment where they are used to monitor patients in a variety of circumstances. A pulse oximeter is clipped onto a patient’s finger or thumb and it monitors the oxygen saturation of the blood. It does not monitor it directly, as a blood test would, but rather indirectly instead. This is beneficial because monitoring is instant and less intrusive than in the past when complex blood tests would have been necessary. They are normally attached by a wire to a monitor which displays the oxygen saturation level so that medical staff can keep an eye on the level. There are many examples of times where blood oxygen saturation might be unstable and where monitoring is important, such as intensive care patients and patients undergoing operations under general anaesthetic. A pulse oximeter is also a vital piece of equipment for sufferers of COPD, chronic obstructiv
